Edgar Montilion "Monty" Woolley (August 17, 1888May 6, 1963) was an American film and theater actor.Obituary '' Variety'', May 8, 1963, page 223. At the age of 50, he achieved a measure of stardom for his role in the 1939 stage play '' The Man Who Came to Dinner'' and its 1942 film adaptation. His distinctive white beard was his trademark and he was affectionately known as "The Beard."

Early life

Woolley was born in New York City's

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

to William Edgar Woolley (1845-1927) and Jessie née Arms (1857-1927) and grew up in the highest social circles. Woolley received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

, where

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

was an intimate friend and classmate, and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

s from Yale and Harvard Universities. He eventually became an assistant professor of English and drama coach at Yale.

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...

and Stephen Vincent Benét were among his students. He served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

as a first lieutenant assigned to the general staff in Paris.

Acting career

Woolley began directing on Broadway in 1929, and began acting there in 1936 after leaving his academic career. In 1939 he starred in the

Kaufman Kaufman or Kauffman may refer to: People *Kaufmann (surname) ''Includes Kaufman, Kauffman, Kauffmann'' Places * Kaufman, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Madison Count * Kaufman, Texas, a city in Kaufman County * Kaufman County, Texas, ...

and Hart comedy '' The Man Who Came to Dinner'' for 783 performances. It was for this well-reviewed role he was typecast as the wasp-tongued, supercilious sophisticate. Woolley signed with

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

in the 1940s and appeared in many films through the mid-1950s. His most famous film role, a reprise of his Broadway role, was in 1942's ''The Man Who Came To Dinner'' in which he plays a cranky radio wag restricted to a wheelchair because of a seemingly injured hip, a caricature of the legendary pundit

Alexander Woollcott Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (January 19, 1887 – January 23, 1943) was an American drama critic and commentator for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, an occasional actor and playwright, and a prominent radio p ...

. The film received a good review from the New York Times.Crowther, Bosley (January 2, 1942
"''The Man Who Came to Dinner''"
Review. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Retrieved 9 August 2010. He played himself in Warner Bros.' fictionalized film biography of Cole Porter, '' Night and Day'' (1946), and the role of Professor Wutheridge in ''

The Bishop's Wife ''The Bishop's Wife'' (also known as ''Cary and the Bishop's Wife'') is a 1947 American romantic comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven. The plot is about an angel who helps a bishop with his ...

'' (1947). In the comedy ''

As Young as You Feel ''As Young as You Feel'' is a 1951 American comedy film starring Monty Woolley, Thelma Ritter, and David Wayne, with Marilyn Monroe in a small role. It was directed by Harmon Jones. Plot When printer John R. Hodges is forced to retire at age 65 ...

'' (1951) he played a printer who, fired routinely from his job at 65 years old, poses as an executive to get his job back. He was also a frequent radio guest performer, first appearing in the medium as a foil to Al Jolson. Woolley became a familiar guest on such shows as '' The Fred Allen Show'', '' Duffy's Tavern'', '' The Big Show'', ''

The Chase and Sanborn Hour ''The Chase and Sanborn Hour'' is the umbrella title for a series of American comedy and variety radio shows sponsored by Standard Brands' Chase and Sanborn Coffee, usually airing Sundays on NBC from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the years 1929 to ...

'' with

Edgar Bergen Edgar John Bergen (born Edgar John Berggren; February 16, 1903 – September 30, 1978) was an American ventriloquist, actor, comedian, vaudevillian and radio performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his characters ...

and Charlie McCarthy, and others. In 1950, Woolley landed the starring role in the NBC series ''The Magnificent Montague''. He played a former Shakespearean actor whose long fall onto hard times forced him to swallow his pride and take a role on daily network radio, becoming an unlikely star while sparring with his wife, Lily ( Anne Seymour), and his wise-cracking maid, Agnes (

Pert Kelton Pert or PERT may refer to: Ships * - see List of United States Navy ships: P * , a World War II corvette, originally HMS ''Nepeta'' * ''Pert'' (sidewheeler), a 19th-century steamboat that operated in British Columbia, Canada Statistics * PE ...

). The show lasted from November 1950 through September 1951. Monty Woolley handprintsignature at Graumans Chinese Theatre

Woolley first appeared on television in cameos, then in his own dramatic play series ''On Stage with Monty Woolley.''"Monty Woolley to Appear in a Series of Television Films"
'' Schenectady Gazette, NY, July 11, 1953. p. 8. Retrieved August 9, 2010. He starred in a CBS TV adaptation of ''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' in 1954, which he and some reviewers lambasted, and appeared in other televised dramas in the series ''Best of Broadway''."Monty Woolley Dies In Albany"
'' St. Petersburg Times'', May 7, 1963. Retrieved August 9, 2010. After completing his last film, '' Kismet'' (1955), he returned to radio for about a year, after which he was forced to retire due to ill health. Woolley was nominated twice for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, as

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...

in 1943 for ''

The Pied Piper The Pied Piper of Hamelin (german: der Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back t ...

'' and as Best Supporting Actor in 1945 for '' Since You Went Away''. He won a Best Actor award from the National Board of Review in 1942 for his role in ''The Pied Piper''. His hands and beard were impressed in the pavement of

Grauman's Chinese Theatre Grauman's Chinese Theatre (branded as TCL Chinese Theatre for naming rights reasons) is a movie palace on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States. The original Chinese ...

in 1943. Woolley received a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

in 1960, officially listed in the "Motion Picture" category, though his star bears the television emblem. The error of the television emblem was evident, considering his only TV efforts were his classic role as 'Sheridan Whiteside' in a 1954 TV adaptation of "The Man Who Came to Dinner", and another cast in a small role in an episode of a short-lived series called "Five Fingers" in 1959.

Personal life

Woolley and

enjoyed many adventures together in New York and on foreign travels, although Porter reportedly disapproved of Woolley taking a black man as his lover. Woolley has been described in scholarly and other works as gay and

closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and other (LGBTQ+) people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and huma ...

. Starting in 1939, Woolley was living with a gay companion, Cary Abbott, who had also graduated from Yale in 1911. Abbott was discreetly identified publicly as Woolley's "courier-secretary-traveling companion." In 1942, Woolley and Abbott moved into a house in Saratoga Springs, where they lived together until Abbott's death, at age 58, from lung cancer, in 1948. According to Bennett Cerf in his 1944 book '' Try and Stop Me,'' Woolley was at a dinner party and suddenly

belch Burping (also called belching and eructation) is the release of gas from the upper digestive tract (esophagus and stomach) of animals through the mouth. It is usually audible. In humans, burping can be caused by normal eating processes, or as ...

ed. A woman sitting nearby glared at him; he glared back and said, "And what did you expect, my good woman? Chimes?" Cerf wrote, "Woolley was so pleased with this line that he insisted it be written into his next role in Hollywood." In 1943,

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

wrote a mystery story for ''Look'' titled "The Murder of Monty Woolley."

Death

On April 6, 1963, Woolley was taken to the Saratoga Springs Hospital with heart problems, and two days later transferred to the Albany Hospital. He died of complications from kidney and heart ailments on May 6, 1963, in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Cit ...

, aged 74."Actor Monty Woolley Dies in Hospital at 74"
'' Miami News''. May 6, 1963. He is interred at the

Greenridge Cemetery Greenridge Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Saratoga Springs, New York. Notable burials * Seymour Ainsworth (1821–1890) * George Sherman Batcheller (1837–1908) * George S. Bolster (1913–1989) * Charles Brackett (1892–1969) * Edgar T ...

, Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County, New York.

Stage

*'' See America First'' (1927) - Director *''

Fifty Million Frenchmen ''Fifty Million Frenchmen'' is a musical comedy with a book by Herbert Fields and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It opened on Broadway in 1929 and was adapted for a film two years later. The title is a reference to the hit 1927 song "Fifty Milli ...

'' (1929) - Director *''

The Second Little Show ''The Second Little Show'' is a musical revue with lyrics by Howard Dietz and music mostly by Arthur Schwartz. Produced by William A. Brady, Jr. and Dwight Deere Wiman, in association with Tom Weatherly, the Broadway production opened at the R ...

'' (1930) - Director *'' The New Yorkers'' (1930) - Director *'' America's Sweetheart'' (1931) - Director *''

Walk a Little Faster ''Walk a Little Faster'' is a musical revue with sketches by S. J. Perelman and Robert MacGunigle, music by Vernon Duke, and lyrics by E. Y. Harburg. Production The Broadway production opened on December 7, 1932 at the St. James Theatre and then ...

'' (1933) - Book director *''Champagne, Sec'' (1933) - Director *'' Jubilee'' (1935) - Dialogue director *'' On Your Toes'' (1936) - Sergei Alexandrovitch *''Knights of Song'' (1938) - His Royal Highness, Albert Edward *'' The Man Who Came to Dinner'' (1939) - Sheridan Whiteside

Complete filmography

* ''

Ladies in Love ''Ladies in Love'' (1936) is a romantic comedy film based upon the play by Leslie Bush-Fekete. It was directed by Edward H. Griffith and stars Janet Gaynor, Constance Bennett and Loretta Young. The film revolves around three roommates (Gaynor, ...

'' (1936) (uncredited and unconfirmed) * '' Live, Love and Learn'' (1937) - Mr. Bawltitude * '' Nothing Sacred'' (1937) - Dr. Oswald Vunch (uncredited) * '' Everybody Sing'' (1938) - John Fleming * ''

Arsène Lupin Returns ''Arsène Lupin Returns'' is a 1938 American mystery film directed by George Fitzmaurice and written by James Kevin McGuinness, Howard Emmett Rogers, and George Harmon Coxe. The film stars Melvyn Douglas, Virginia Bruce, Warren William, John Hal ...

'' (1938) - Georges Bouchet * '' The Girl of the Golden West'' (1938) - Governor * ''The Forgotten Step'' (1938 short) - The Art Collector * '' Three Comrades'' (1938) - Dr. Jaffe * ''

Lord Jeff ''Lord Jeff'' is a 1938 MGM film, set in England, starring Freddie Bartholomew as a spoiled orphan who has gotten mixed up with some crooks, but gets set straight by a stint in a mercantile marine vocational school for orphaned boys. Plot Young ...

'' (1938) - Jeweler * '' Vacation from Love'' (1938) - Wedding Guest in Car (uncredited) * '' Young Dr. Kildare'' (1938) - Dr. Lane-Porteus * ''

Artists and Models Abroad ''Artists and Models Abroad'' (UK title: ''Stranded in Paris'') is a 1938 comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Jack Benny and Joan Bennett. It was made by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Ken Englund, Howard Lin ...

'' (1938) - Gantvoort * ''

Zaza Zaza may refer to: Ethnic group * Zazas, a group of people in eastern Anatolia (southeastern Turkey) * Zaza–Gorani languages, Indo-Iranian languages ** Zaza language, spoken by the Zazas People Given name * Zaza Sor. Aree (born 1993), Thai kic ...

'' (1939) - Fouget * ''

Midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours ...

'' (1939) - The Judge * '' Never Say Die'' (1939) - Dr. Schmidt * '' Man About Town'' (1939) - Henri Dubois * ''

Honeymoon in Bali ''Honeymoon in Bali'' is a 1939 American romantic comedy film. It is also known by the alternative titles ''Husbands or Lovers'' and ''My Love for Yours''. Virginia Van Upp's screenplay was based on the short stories "Our Miss Keane" by Grace Sa ...

'' (1939) - Parker, Smitty's Publisher (uncredited) * '' Dancing Co-Ed'' (1939) - Professor Lange * ''See Your Doctor'' (1939 short) - Doctor (uncredited) * '' The Man Who Came to Dinner'' (1942) - Sheridan Whiteside * ''

'' (1942) - John Sidney Howard * '' Life Begins at Eight-Thirty'' (1942) - Madden Thomas * '' Holy Matrimony'' (1943) - Priam Farll * '' Since You Went Away'' (1944) - Col. William G. Smollett * '' Irish Eyes Are Smiling'' (1944) - Edgar Brawley * '' Molly and Me'' (1945) - John Graham * '' Night and Day'' (1946) - himself * '' Paris 1900'' (1947 documentary) - Narrator (US version) * ''

'' (1947) - Professor Wutheridge * '' Miss Tatlock's Millions'' (1948) - Miles Tatlock * ''

'' (1951) - John R. Hodges * '' Kismet'' (1955) - Omar

Radio appearances

References

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woolley, Monty 1888 births 1963 deaths American male stage actors American male film actors American male radio actors American male television actors Harvard University alumni Yale University alumni LGBT people from New York (state) American gay actors United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War I Yale University faculty People from Saratoga Springs, New York Burials at Greenridge Cemetery 20th-century American male actors